Boding bald

Not happy with your fat nose? Want to loose weight? Want to make your lips luscious? Want to modify your jaw bone? No problem. Cosmetic Surgery to the rescue! This increasing thriving industry is making more and more people (read women) go under the knife without giving a second thought.

By no means I am against the practice of cosmetic surgery but there has to be a line drawn for strictly cosmetic reason or functional reasons.

My wife is bugging me to undertake hair transplant for months now. With my faster-than-I-thought receding hairline I am giving it a second thought. Shouldn't I just accept with dignity and humility about this century old disease and join the burgeoning LoBM ( League of Bald Men)? Or should I undergo hair transplant and have my 'self-esteem' restored and become photogenic again? 

We should learn to be content in your skin. Look beyond oneself and aim for higher goals, have lofty vision, etc. I need a quick solution not a preachy lecture: Instant Fix leading to Instant gratification.
The peer pressure to have a certain conformed image is prevalent in our society. From models need to have certain dimensions to CEO can not be fat. Next norm - husbands can not be bald :)    

Are you a Genius?

Be a linchpin (Seth Godin)

- Make Art
- Give Gifts
- Do work that matters
- Connect
- Lead
- Make a Difference

Stats is Math

In my past academic life I always boasted my Math aptitude. I excelled in Math tests and exams in school and university:
From solving quadratic algebraic equations to proving trigonometric equations; from finding tangent in Geometry to calculating derivative of differential equations in Calculus. I used to be proud of my Mathematical prowess.
I was also humble of my natural talent;  helped peers to grasp the obvious concepts which they found elusive. Alright I was not that humble lol.

Behold! There was another branch of Math which brought me to my knees: Statistics! In my undergrad, I shrugged off this weakness by dismissing Stats not really being pure Maths. When I encountered this subject again in my Masters program I had a different level of appreciation for this important pillar of Mathematics.

Statistics is the backbone of Economics and Maths. Stats interlinks Geeks and Business people. Stats can tell stories about data which would otherwise be nothing but heap of coal i.e. useless. Statistical Analysis harness the data to turn into diamond! 
From predicting forecasting models to finding correlations between customer behavior and store temperature - you need deep Statistics understanding to validate or discover any trends.

With data being the digital gold for corporates, many companies are mining data to run statistical analysis on the data. Companies are making key strategic decisions that are more analytic driven rather than relying on gut feeling.

From 'Minority Report' to 'Money Ball' Stats is the Hero

Ending from a quote by Bernard Shaw:

"It is the mark of a truly intelligent person to be moved by statistics"

Chaiyya Chaiyya

A meaningless song name but let that not fool you. The song came in 90s and it still instills the same euphoria, magic, madness and grip. The song ceases to decline in popularity.

The song has the heaviest Urdu poetry with sublime rhythm. Unsurprisingly, majority of the listeners did not understand the meaning of the song. The intricate nuances of poetry by Gulzar is adroitly weaved with AR Rahman's mystical music. Every stanza takes the description of love and lover to the next celestial level.

No other choreography would had done justice to the song. Troops dance on the top of a moving train! The train is moving through the dense forest. Must have been an uphill task to shoot the song !

The cast for the song was none other SRK, his cherubic innocence and infectious energy of SRK gripped the nation with his carefree dance moves and not to forget Malika Arora :)

Enjoy the Lyrics of the song below and till then Chaiyya Chaiyya!

Jinke sar ho ishq ki chaaon
Paaon ke neeche jaanat hogi
Chal chaiyya chaiyya chaiyya chaiyya

Those who walk in the shade of love
Must have Paradise under their feet
Keep walking in the shade of love

Sar ishq ki chhaaon chal chaiyya chaiyya
Pau janat chale chal chaiyya chaiyya
(Chal chaiyya chaiyya chaiyya chaiyya) 

In the shade of love, keep walking
Paradise under their feet, keep walking
Keep walking in the shade of love

Voh yaar hai jo khushboo ki tarah
Voh jiski zubaan urdu ki tarah
Meri shaam raat, meri kaayanat
Voh yaar mera sainya sainya

The companion who walks along like fragrance
Who whispers in a melodious tongue(Urdu)
Is my evening, night, my universe
My beloved, my love

Gulposh kabhi itraaye kahin
Mehke to nazar aa jaaye kahin
Taaveez banaake pehnoon usay
Aayat ki tarah mil jaaye kahin

(who) conceals herself in the flowers
And is revealed in the fragrance
Made into a charm, I would wear hear
If I ever find her like a miracle

Voh yaar hai jo imaam ki tarah
Mera nagma vohi mera qalma vohi
Mera nagma nagma mera qalma qalma

My companion, who is like a priest to me
She is my song, my declaration of faith
My song, my declaration of faith

Woh yaar misaale ous chale
Paaon ke tale firdous chale
Kabhi daal daal, kabhi paat paat
Main hawa pe dhoondhoon uske nishaan

My companion, who moves like the dew drops
With paradise under the feet
Sometimes on the branches, sometimes on the leaves
I search for her trail in the breeze

Main uske roop ka shehdaai
Vo dhoop chhanv se harjaai
Vo shokh hai rang badalta hai
Main rangroop ka saudaai

I am a lover of all her forms
Who flirts with light and shadow
She is mischievous, and changes colour
And I am a seeker of the colours and forms

Chal chaiyya chaiyya chaiyya chaiyyaKeep walking in the shade of love

First ...

On my 30 something birthday on 4th April, I got a pleasant surprise from my son.

It was Saturday morning, I woke up early to renew my Health Card and Driver License and to get my zoom-zoom to the dealer for annual maintenance. 

My son grabbed me and took me to the basement where he had a note written for me. The gesture was extremely over whelming and I expected the least. I had a lump in my throat to swallow after reading it.

I will always treat such gestures as my first as building up expectations serves you no good. Having higher expectations leads to anxiety  and depression. Lower your expectations and just enjoy the ride while it lasts :)

Switch On/Off

So I've just finished reading Steve Job's 1500 pages autobiography; a roller coaster of a life, I was spell-bounded to say the least.  Living vicariously through his book my eyes got misty at the closing chapters when his cancer was taking a toll on his health.
There were many take away Management and Product Design lessons from the book. One that moved me was his realisation and acknowledement of presence of a Supreme Force. Being an Atheist all his life, he started questioning the hereafter during the end. He dismissed the idea of body being 'turned off' after one dies. Soul can't just simply shut off. All the experiences one goes through and the wisdom one accrue must have some relevance and weight in the next life. The soul never shuts off. That was also one of the reasons why Steve Jobs vehemently opposed having a switch on/off button on his Mac products.
Soul is fluid .. Soul is eternal..Soul never switches Off.

Spring forward

It was that time of the year again where we dial our clocks one hour ahead for DayLight Savings time.

We loose an hour from the moment we wake up; ending our day quickly. Carrying this loss along with an end of the weekend make you realize the importance of time. You only realize it when you loose it.

I had a similar feeling few days ago when I was attending the last lecture for my Master's program. One year sprung in front of my eyes without a blink! 

My MMA program was an intense one-year program. It felt like a fire hose in your mouth. Back-to-back courses with heavy course load where you are always trying to catch up especially if you have a full time job and a family. After the final class, I felt like a heavy load lifted off my shoulders.  Roller coaster of emotions such as anxiety, excitement, stress, sad, proud, guilt, relieve were going over my head.

Anxiety - of what to do next. How to retain/apply the new skill set in your career.

Excitement - of what lies ahead. Couple of interviews lined up. Lets see whats in the store for me.

Stress - during the program and now how to recover the dent in my Balance Sheet.

Sad - not able to work with some of the folks again (it is also a good thing lol)

Proud - I did it! I did it!

Guilt - wished I had things done differently while in the program and undo some of the stuff - by definition it is called gaining 'experience'

Relieve - needless to say.

The puck doesn't stop here. I shall never go back to school again (never say 'never') but the pursuit of knowledge and hunger for learning, meeting and connecting with people shall always remain perpetual.

P.S - I have to resume my gym membership as I have put on 15 pounds during the course of the program! (thanks to the free supply of pop/coffee at the school facility). I was given a subtle reminder by wife "no excuses for not doing the dishes now" signalling I have to get back to business.